


The History of Seduction

by scy



Category: The Vampire Diaries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-19
Updated: 2010-06-19
Packaged: 2017-10-10 04:49:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/95660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scy/pseuds/scy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alaric is a scholar</p>
            </blockquote>





	The History of Seduction

**Author's Note:**

> Title thanks to [](http://seperis.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**seperis**](http://seperis.dreamwidth.org/), who along with [](http://silviakundera.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**silviakundera**](http://silviakundera.dreamwidth.org/) read this over, and provided insight. [](http://spasticat.dreamwidth.org/profile)[](http://spasticat.dreamwidth.org/)**spasticat** cheerleaded.

It turned out that living in a town where there were vampires wasn't so much different from the way his life used to be, so long as nobody was actively out to kill anybody else. Alaric had come to Mystic Falls looking to kill vampires, and he'd done a lot of that. Now he realized he had a job, a place to stay, and acquaintances who were actually interested in having him stick around for the long term.

"Have they asked you to stay on yet?" Jenna asked as they divided out ears of corn for the barbecue the PTA was putting on. School was out, but apparently Mystic Falls was the kind of small town that liked to keep people together and festivals were a good way of doing that. Alaric thought that Sheriff Forbes just liked knowing where everybody was, especially after the last year. He'd caught her actually leaning against a fence, standing next to Damon and smiling just a little bit. When Damon wandered off, she straightened up, and Alaric could tell she was back on the job.

Alaric realized Jenna was waiting for him to answer her question and smiled apologetically. "Yeah, I've gotten an offer."

"What did you tell them?" Jenna asked.

"Well, I don't have any other jobs opening up anywhere that I need to be, so I told them I'd stay on," Alaric said, and Jenna smiled.

"That's good, I think the kids could use a familiar face."

"They'll be sick of me soon," Alaric said, and Jenna shook her head.

"No, they'll be glad to have you on their side, I can tell." Her expression darkened, and Alaric knew she was thinking of Jeremy.

"How's he doing?"

"Okay," Jenna said, and that wasn't much of an answer, but Alaric had seen Elena and Jenna after they found Jeremy and had visited him in the hospital. They'd had to send him to a clinic, because he had told them that he would try again as soon as he got home. Jenna had cried, and Elena had too, although Alaric hadn't seen it, just her red eyes when Stefan brought her to say goodbye to Jeremy.

"I'm glad to hear it. I haven't seen much of Elena today."

"I think she and Stefan are putting up banners. Or doing something with hay," Jenna said, and smiled at Alaric, who coughed.

"I'm sure they are." Alaric finished piling the corn in another bin and stepped back. "Well, I think we've got enough of that."

Jenna shook her head. "You haven't been to enough events here, this is barely going to hold us over."

Alaric was amazed. "Who's going to be here?"

"This is a local event, but everybody comes, people who have family in other states bring them in, and it turns into a real party."

"It should be fun," Alaric said.

"Definitely," Jenna said.

"So Stefan will be here later," Alaric said.

"If Elena is, he will too," Jenna said. They both knew that the two of them were almost inseparable, and they weren't the only couple that had seen some tough times and come out stronger. Caroline Forbes and Matt Donovan were still dating, and more often than not, Tyler Lockwood was near them, which was interesting but seemed to be working out for them so far.

Jenna wiped her hands on a towel. "Have you seen Damon?"

"He was talking to the sheriff a couple minutes ago, why?"

"No reason," Jenna said, her mouth tightening.

"Is he bothering you?"

"Not me, I just don't know what he's up to." Jenna grimaced. "Or what he and Elena are up to."

Alaric blinked. "They're just friends."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Elena loves Stefan." Even if he hadn't been able to understand it at first, Alaric could tell that, the same way he knew that they would do anything to protect the other, and surprisingly, Damon. Alaric never thought about whether Damon had limits to what he would do if he wanted something, they'd been in that house full of vampires together, and Alaric had gone in there partly because what Damon promised him, but also because Damon hadn't wanted Elena to go in with them.

"That's good." Jenna was still frowning. "Damon is nice, but I don't think he's exactly-"

Alaric could think of any number of adjectives to describe Damon, but none of them were appropriate, and he didn't want Jenna to be any more uneasy. "Settled?"

She was relieved. "Yes, I think he's the kind of guy that would take off and not tell anybody. Stefan is much more interested in the long term, and he seems to like it here."

"Damon is his guardian," Alaric said, not quite believing that he was going along with the fiction, but willing to for the moment. "He's not going to pull Stefan out of school because he needs to take a vacation from this town."

"Does he actually have a job?" Jenna asked. "I mean, I know he's been working with Sheriff Forbes for awhile, but what does he do?"

"I have no idea," Alaric said. Vampires had to get money from somewhere, Alaric had just never done more than wonder if they stole it all or if they actually liked to earn money the way humans did.

"He must keep busy somehow," Jenna said.

"I don't doubt it." Alaric glanced at his watch and shook his head. "Well, I'd better get home if I want to get any work done tonight."

"Are you still dealing with school stuff?"

"Not from last year," Alaric said. "This is for me. I've been thinking that since I live in such an interesting old town, I should do a little scholarly investigating." He smiled. "I have a syllabus to write too, but I'm doing something fun too."

Jenna raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Alaric shrugged. "I've been reading the Founders' Council journals, there could be a paper in it."

"That sounds interesting," Jenna said. "There are a lot of journals, you're going to have a hard time choosing what to focus on."

"There's nothing like a first hand account to get a history major excited," Alaric said, and Jenna laughed.

"Go on, then, you've got work to do."

Alaric was dealing with just the situation Jenna had guessed at, he had so much material to choose from that he was almost at a loss. The research he'd done was somewhat guided by the fact that he knew exactly what the monsters the Founders talked about really were, and he read one journal after another thinking about sharp teeth and blood spilled in the night.

Yet, one evening when he was reading Jonathan Gilbert's journal, and there was a mention of the owner of the apothecary, a woman named Pearl, and her young daughter, Alaric saw something else. There was a tentative relationship there, even just on the page, and Alaric thought it might very well not have been one sided. Not every vampire was a bad person, Stefan was one example of that, and Alaric thought that it was possible that not every single one in Mystic Falls back then had been out to cause pain and misery. Some of them might have even had other things in mind.

He couldn't very well talk to Pearl, the younger Jonathan Gilbert had killed her, but Alaric knew of a couple vampires who might be willing to talk to him.

"This might be a stupid question," Alaric said to Stefan, and got a curious look in return.

"Go on."

"Why do you keep coming back to Mystic Falls?"

'It's my home," Stefan said.

"Not anymore."

Stefan smiled. "I was born here, this is where I grew up, and this is where I died. That means something to me." He glanced over to where Elena was standing with Bonnie and Caroline, the three of them deep in conversation.

"Yeah, and there are other things keeping you here now," Alaric said, and smiled into his beer.

"One or two," Stefan said, and smiled back as Elena came up to them and slid an arm around Stefan's waist. "What's the matter?"

"It's so annoying that you have such good hearing," Elena said and flicked Stefan gently. He took her hand, kissed the back of it, and put it against his chest.

"Yes, and?"

"Matt is freaking out about something, and that's got Tyler worried, which as Caroline upset, and Bonnie and I were trying to calm her down."

"It's that bad?" Alaric asked, and Elena sighed.

"Boys can be kind of dumb sometimes." She patted Stefan's chest. "No offense."

Stefan and Alaric looked at each other. "None taken. Did you want me to talk to him? See if I can sort him out?"

"If he doesn't snap out of it soon, I may ask. I can't get into it, I want to smack him too, and I'm doing a sleepover at Bonnie's tonight, Caroline needs some girl time."

Stefan turned to Alaric. "What are you up to?"

"I've been thinking about writing a paper about the effects of the war on small town attitudes toward outsiders."

"You've been in the Founders Archives reading between the lines," Stefan said, nodding.

Alaric's mouth twitched. "The journals are very carefully worded, around the time of the Battle of Willow Creek."

"Yes they are."

Alaric paused. "I didn't find a journal for Giuseppe Salvatore."

Stefan nodded. "We have his journal at the boarding house."

"Would you mind if I took a look at it?"

"I think Damon knows where it is," Stefan said, and Alaric let out a sigh.

"I should count on bribing him."

"If you think you can," Stefan said.

Elena looked thoughtful. "Make sure there's something in it for him. He can be helpful if it's not more fun for him not to."

"Thanks," Alaric said and the two of them headed off together.

Alaric didn't make a habit of stopping by the boarding house, but he would, for a good cause, and so was knocking on the door later that evening.

Damon opened the door and stared at Alaric.

"Are you going to invite me in?" Alaric asked.

"Cute," Damon said, and stood to the side and Alaric went inside.

"The happy couple aren't here," Damon said.

"I wanted to talk to you."

Damon blinked and led the way into the parlor.

Alaric couldn't help being amazed, the room was perfectly in character for a Civil War era home, and there were antiques scattered everywhere.

"This is impressive," Alaric said and Damon looked bored.

"If you like a museum atmosphere." He regarded Alaric silently and Alaric cleared his throat.

"You're probably wondering what I want."

"I have no doubt you're going to tell me," Damon said, and took a seat at a table stacked high with books, and Alaric sat down on the other side.

"I'm writing a paper on Mystic Falls."

"Good for you."

"The approach I'm taking is xenophobia during war time."

"How ambitious of you," Damon said, eying him narrowly. "Are you including the truth?"

"I'd like this to be published, so I can't add vampires, but I want it to be clear that historically, there has been prejudice against outsiders, especially in times of societal upheaval."

"So why did you want to talk to me?"

"Stefan mentioned that your father kept a journal during that time, and I'd like this piece to cite a wide range of sources."

"Yeah, you can borrow it," Damon said, and sorted through the books sitting at his elbow. He found the journal and handed it to Alaric. "He never said what he didn't have to," Damon said. "Unless he was mad about something, and then he tended to go on endlessly, just so you know."

"But he knew about the vampires, right?" Alaric asked as he skimmed.

"He did, but he had no idea there was one living in his house." Damon smirked. "That shook him up."

"I'm sure it did."

Damon looked unconcerned, and Alaric was thoughtful.

"Was that Katherine?"

"Yes."

"Why was she staying with your family?"

"She was posing as an orphan from Atlanta and told my father that her family had been killed in the fires."

"That was smart of her. When did you figure out that she was a vampire?"

"She let things slip," Damon said. "Then I asked, and she told me."

"Why didn't she erase your memory?" Alaric asked. That surprised him, he would have expected staying hidden to be a priority especially in such a small town.

"I didn't flip out, she found that interesting," Damon said. He got up and Alaric did the same.

"You weren't scared at all." Or, there had been something that had prevented Damon from seeing Katherine as a threat.

Damon held the door open for Alaric. "Come on, Ric, you know how this goes, love makes you do funny things."

"I get that," Alaric said. After all, he'd become a vampire hunter and uprooted himself to a completely new town. He held up the journal. "Thanks for the loan."

Damon looked unmoved. "It's dry reading, but have at it."

Stefan came across Alaric in a booth at the Grill and noticed the journal resting on top of his shoulder bag, carefully set out of the way as he ate.

"Damon lent you the journal?"

"He did."

Stefan looked concerned. "What did you have to do to get it?"

"Nothing, actually. He warned me that your father liked to ramble on a bit, and sent me on my way."

"Huh." Stefan took a seat, coffee mug in hand. "That was nice of him."

"I was waiting for the catch too," Alaric said. He frowned at his notes and Stefan craned his head to look at them.

"Is something bothering you?"

"I'm considering including veterans in the outsider category because they returned from war with different opinions and may have not been able to reconcile that with their families. It's a common phenomenon, and even though they didn't call it PTSD or something like that, the doctors were aware of it back then."

"Most of them just said that the soldiers were shell shocked," Stefan said. "They didn't know how to treat it."

"You sound like you've read up on it," Alaric said.

"I wanted to be a doctor," Stefan said.

"Why didn't you?"

Stefan smiled. "I had a problem with blood."

Alaric laughed. "Seriously?"

Stefan shook his head. "The irony isn't lost on me, but it's true. I may have fainted when I fractured my arm."

Alaric grinned, and Stefan gave a self deprecating shrug. "Damon has other embarrassing stories to tell, I'm sure he could be persuaded to share."

The mention of Damon prompted Alaric to voice something that had occurred to him. "Is that what happened to your brother?"

"What do you mean?"

"In your father's journal, he mentions that Damon left the Confederate Army suddenly. He was really unhappy about that, for about four pages."

Stefan winced. "He was very disappointed in Damon, and they argued about that." He took a sip of his coffee. "You think that this supports your theory."

"Yeah, I think so. Has Damon ever talked about what made him defect?"

"Technically Damon didn't desert," Stefan said. "There was an act of Congress that let a soldier pay off their place in the service, and we had the money to do it."

"But he didn't say why he left?"

Stefan looked away. "A little. It's not something he wanted to share when he got home, and we're just starting to really talk again."

"Do you think that he'd discuss it with me if I asked?"

"It depends on his mood," Stefan said. "Sometimes he'll tell you everything you want to know, but it's just to shock you and to prove that he's got the edge."

"Not always," Alaric said. He remembered the times when he and Damon had sat down, however briefly and shared with each other. While they'd waited outside the Grill together, each of them had been worried about a woman inside, and they had been united in their concern. That had been the second time Damon had freely shared information about vampires without being condescending. It had actually been a very concrete explanation, and Alaric reflected that Damon could be informative when he felt like it.

Stefan watched him, and Alaric gave him an inquiring expression. "What?"

"You've spent time with Damon."

"Not that much," Alaric said defensively. They could get along, but Alaric still thought back a little wistfully to a time when his group of acquaintances didn't include vampires.

"If you're serious about this paper, I'd say you should talk to Damon. He was in the war, and then came home. That's the perspective you want."

"I don't suppose he kept a journal," Alaric said plaintively and Stefan snorted.

"Please, bring up academics with my brother, it'll be very educational."

"I'll consider it," Alaric said, even though both he and Stefan were clearly planning for possible fallout.

"Go easy on him," Stefan said. "Damon is trying to get along with people, it's not easy for him."

"He tried to stop the vampires from attacking at the Founders Day celebration," Alaric said. "He came to find me so I could get some weapons."

"I didn't know he talked to you," Stefan said. "He told Elena and I what was going on, and then got trapped in the old apothecary."

"Yeah, he filled me in, that's why I found you so fast."

Stefan smiled involuntarily, and Alaric could tell that he was glad that he'd heard this, even a month or so after the fact. "I never know if he's serious about something unless he's killing people, but maybe he's doing it for better reasons."

"Stranger things do happen," Alaric said.

"I know, and I've accepted that Damon is never going to do what you expect."

"Sometimes that's not a bad thing," Alaric said, and Stefan nodded.

"Talk to him, it's good that he has a reason to be interested in people."

"It helps keep the body count low," Alaric said and smiled to show he was mostly kidding.

"Exactly," Stefan said, and they had a second of agreement.

When he'd finished rereading a section in Giuseppe Salvatore's journal, Alaric picked up his cell phone and dialed a number that he was becoming familiar with.

"Yes?"

"You don't say hello?" Alaric asked.

Damon snorted. "I have caller id, what did you want?"

"Would you mind talking to me about some stuff?"

"You were married, Ric, I hope you don't need me to explain the facts of life to you."

Alaric put a hand over his face. "No, I don't."

"Then what is it?"

"I told you about my paper-"

"For which I let you borrow a family heirloom, yeah I remember."

"Do you even care what happens to the journal?"

"If it got lost I'd hear about it from Stefan, and that level of brooding doesn't improve anybody's day."

"Right, well, I'd like to hear about some of your experiences."

"Like what?"

"What it was like growing up in Mystic Falls, and then how it was going back after the war."

"I came back before the war had ended," Damon said. "I'm sure my father brought that up enough times for you to know how that went over."

"Yeah, I noticed, but I'd like to hear your side of things."

"What kind of paper is this?" Damon asked, but he didn't sound upset. "I haven't got anything else to do tonight, and if Mrs. Lockwood disappears in a mysterious accident, the sheriff is going to get testy."

"What?"

"Oh, just council business," Damon said airily. "They're arguing over who's in charge."

"Why do you care?"

"The Founders Council are the ones that are going to jump all over hunting down any possible vampires, it's just a good idea to stay in the know."

"I get that, but what are they having you do now that you aren't pretending to hunt down vampires?"

"I'm in charge of keeping track of animal attacks in the area and keeping the supplies stocked, just in case," Damon said.

Alaric took that in and had to ask. "They're seriously depending on you to save them?"

"I did a pretty good job last time, I guess they noticed."

"Or something," Alaric said. He'd seen Damon and Sheriff Forbes talking more than once, and he wondered how well they got along, and that somehow it had to be partly genuine because Damon couldn't compel anybody that was using vervain, and Stefan had assured Alaric that it was still being handed out to Elena and a few other people, the Sheriff likely included. "Is that all you're doing these days? Hanging out with the sheriff and her deputies?"

"I find other things to do," Damon said and let out an amused sound. "I'm talking to you, aren't I?"

"Yeah," Alaric said. He didn't want to push Damon as to his reasons for doing this, he was going to be asking enough intrusive question anyhow, and he wasn't entirely sure that Damon wouldn't get annoyed and put an end to the whole thing.

"I'm also going to be teaching a self defense class," Damon said, and Alaric had to put down his drink so he didn't choke over the phone.

"Now you're just messing with me."

"No, Sheriff Forbes has caught on to the fact that most people in this town have no survival instincts whatsoever, so she's trying to improve those odds."

"That still won't save them if a vampire attacks them."

"No, but she's hoping less of them will make out in dark alleys." Damon sighed. "It's a classic for a reason."

"Don't tell me you miss killing people."

"I do."

Alaric groaned. "I said don't tell me that."

"What's the matter, you know what I am, you don't have any illusions about it," Damon said.

"No, but sometimes I pretend we're both normal guys."

"How boring would that be?" Damon asked.

"I might sleep better at night," Alaric said, and Damon didn't sound interested.

"You were going to ask me something, what was it?"

"When and where did you want to meet to discuss this?"

"That depends, are you willing to spring for dinner?"

Alaric froze. "This isn't a date."

"Maybe not, but you're looking for weighty conversation, usually that entails a glass or two of wine and a private table."

Still fixated on the idea that Damon thought this in any way resembled a normal relationship, Alaric went looking for the economy sized bottle of aspirin he'd started keeping in his cupboard. "Is there anyplace to eat in town that isn't the Grill?"

"Not really, it's a local favorite," Damon said.

"It's the only option," Alaric said.

"That too."

Alaric sighed. "Would Wednesday at seven work for you?"

"I'll see you then," Damon said, and hung up.

Alaric left the journal at home but took a tape recorder along with him. He didn't think they were going to get into anything that wasn't appropriate for a restaurant, but he wanted to get every word down, and this was the easiest way. He'd worry about how to cite Damon as a source later, because he was somehow sure that he was going to get something out of talking to him, even if Damon wasn't letting on what he wanted to tell Alaric.

"You're getting all scholarly on me," Damon said when he saw the tape recorder, but he just nudged it in between the salt and pepper shakers and kept on reviewing the menu.

"Do you actually need to eat, food I mean?" Alaric asked.

"I don't have to," Damon said, and ordered a steak, and Alaric went with a chicken dish that he hadn't tried yet, and he waited until the waiter had left and then he went on answering the question. "But I like a good steak now and then. Plus it helps us blend in. Everybody notices the guy who never has anything but red wine." Damon rolled his eyes.

"I've noticed there are a lot of cliches that don't apply at all," Alaric said.

"That's right, you came here ready to save the world," Damon said, and Alaric hoped they weren't going to dredge up his old life.

"I just did what most people would do," Alaric said, and Damon let out a snort.

"Not many of them, actually."

"All right, I know I'm slightly abnormal, us collaborating in any way is proof of that, but can we move on from what I like to do in my spare time?"

"Have we begun discussing that? You have to have other interests," Damon said, and leaned forward slightly.

"That's not what we're here to talk about."

"We don't have to limit our conversation."

"For the moment, let's change the subject," Alaric said firmly. Feeling off balance with Damon was nothing new, but this approach was distinctly predatory, and Alaric hadn't been expecting it to be directed his way.

Damon looked unsurprised. "Right, you want to talk about the war."

"Yes, I do, that's why we're here."

"I just came for the company," Damon said, and Alaric looked at him sideways.

"Humor aside, is there anything that you want to say about it before I start with with some questions?"

"No," Damon said. "Go on, ask me what you want to know."

"All right, when did you decide to join the army?"

"It wasn't something you got a real choice about," Damon said.

"I know there was the Conscription Act in the South, but your family was wealthy, your father could have paid your way out of it."

"He could have, but that would have meant actual effort was expended on my behalf."

"So he wanted you to be a soldier."

"More that he wanted to preserve his legacy, and that was a good way to do it."

"Stefan was too young to fight."

"That and he had two sons," Damon said. "He wouldn't have let Stefan go out there."

"Why's that?"

Damon shook his head slightly. "It would have put him in danger, and that was unacceptable."

"But you weren't safe."

"Going to war didn't change that," Damon said. "It just meant that people were shooting at me instead."

Alaric frowned. "Are you just saying that to cover your ass?"

"What?"

"It's a good blanket explanation for everything, your life at home wasn't perfect, so you went out with a vampire and became a psychopath."

"I'd like to think I was well on my way before I met Katherine," Damon said.

"That's very self aware of you," Alaric said.

Damon grinned. "Next?"

"All right, what year did you join up?"

"Right away," Damon said. "Once it was clear what was going on." When he got a prompting nod from Alaric, he looked pensive. "Early 1860s, that would have been."

Alaric glanced at his notes. "Mystic Falls had a population of Northerners in the 1800s, so I take it there was a lot of disagreement about the war."

"Yeah, most of the town wanted to secede, but there were some people who were against it, and there were some pretty good fights about that."

"Then you were stationed with the local regiment?"

"Yeah."

Alaric found the note he'd made. "Mystic Falls wasn't just a Southern outpost, it changed hands several times during the war."

Damon nodded. "After the Battle of Mananas, General Longstreet was camped out at Home Hill, and then there were some nuts who were using hot air balloons to spy on each other."

"There was a Balloon Corps," Alaric said. That was still a surprise to him, but it was an ingenious idea.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and wasn't that brilliant."

"They used the balloons to spy on the town and bombarded it a lot," Alaric said.

"Pretty much," Damon said, and their food arrived and they both sat back so the plates could be set out.

"But you still didn't want to stay there?"

"I was going to leave home, it just happened that the army was the way I left."

"Where did you go?"

"All over." Damon shrugged.

"Give me a list," Alaric said.

Damon took another drink and then picked up his silverware and began cutting his steak.

"I was part of the 17th Virginia Infantry, and we were sent to Rocky Ridge, and camped there for awhile."

"What time of year was this?"

"Late summer, August," Damon said.

"There was fighting there," Alaric said.

"It's been given a catchy title, like all the battles. This one was the Battle of the Peach Orchard." Damon looked annoyed. "As if it was just one battle. We were stationed there for months, and it wasn't like it ever stopped, we kept picking fights with the Yankees until almost November."

Alaric nodded and took a sip of his beer. "I've read that there was a lot of that. Most of my students think that everything was huge battles, and they don't believe that there were things like skirmishes." He shook his head. "I'd imagine war is terrible and boring by turns."

Damon shrugged and sliced off another piece of steak. "It had its moments of both."

Alaric watched Damon eat for a couple seconds. "Why did you leave the army? The war wasn't over yet, and the Confederates didn't stop fighting for another year or so."

"It was after Cold Harbor," Damon said, and deliberately downed the last of his bourbon.

"The Union Army had incredible casualties in that battle," Alaric said deliberately.

"Have you ever seen something so completely pointless that you just wondered why anybody was bothering?" Damon asked and stared at the piece of meat he'd speared on his fork and then took a bite.

Alaric couldn't think of anything that would compare. "Bad, huh?"

"I'm sure you can imagine the details," Damon said, and signaled for the waiter to refill his glass.

Alaric didn't need to ask if it Damon had seen horrible things in battle, that was all there could be, and he was wondering how it worked, the emotions thing. Whether Damon turned off his emotions all the time, or if it was only when he was thinking about things in the present, and whether his human memories ever affected him.

"So you came back to Mystic Falls in 1864."

"That's right."

"How did you manage that?"

"It's good to have money," Damon said and smirked.

"That wasn't a popular choice, I take it?"

"Some people were happy that soldiers made it home, even if it wasn't covered in medals."

"Not all of them, though," Alaric said.

He considered his next question and then spoke up. "What about the other outsiders? There were more strangers in the village besides the soldiers that came home."

Damon waited for Alaric to finish his thought, and when he didn't go on, eyed his plate. "Are you going to eat your coleslaw?"

Alaric blinked. "No, you have it." He pushed the dish toward Damon, who took it and dished it onto his plate. "Do you actually like eating, or is it just a social cover?"

"I told you, I enjoy food," Damon said. He'd finished his steak, and motioned at the tape recorder. "You were saying?"

"Yes, I was going tell you to go on. What I'm trying to determine is how the attitude of the townspeople changed when you got home. And how they reacted to having new people around."

"You mean Katherine and Pearl, and all their friends," Damon said.

Alaric nodded. "Yes, that's what I'm asking. Was it harder for them to fit in because of the war, or would it have been difficult anyway?"

"There were lots of traders passing through, and some people stayed on, but it's still a small town, and you've seen what happens with people who are different."

"Some of them are pretty friendly," Alaric said. It hadn't been easy to come to a new place, but the school board and a lot of the single women had been extremely happy to fill the late Mr. Tanner's teaching post.

When Damon raised an eyebrow, Alaric sighed. "I know, but you were being auctioned off as an eligible bachelor too."

"Sheriff Forbes asked me to do her a favor, and I figured why not?"

"You were being selfless."

"Not entirely, and she knew it too." Damon finished his drink. "She actually likes me, you know."

"It's incredible."

"Many people do."

"They don't know better," Alaric said, and Damon lifted his chin.

"You like me a little, in spite of yourself."

"I'm not sure why," Alaric said.

"I have a way about me," Damon said.

"Something." Alaric stared at him. "I haven't forgotten what you are."

"I didn't say you should."

"You can't make me."

Damon raised his gaze to the ceiling in apparent exasperation. "Why would I do that?"

"If I didn't know about you then you'd get your way a lot more often."

"I get my way no matter what," Damon said. "Sometimes I just have to be patient."

"Not always," Alaric said, and he was thinking of Katherine, who could slip and out of Damon's life without a second thought, but who never stayed. Isobel must have learned something about that from her, but at least he'd only had to see her once and now she was keeping her distance.

Damon lifted one shoulder in acknowledgment as he pushed his plate away. "I'm finished, how about you?"

Alaric glanced at the tape recorder. He had enough material to work with for the time being, although he was probably going to want to clarify some things with Damon later as he continued his work. "I think this is a good start."

"All right, well I've got to be going."

"Places to go, people to kill," Alaric said knowingly, and could tell that he wasn't pulling off a disapproving tone with any success. Still, he couldn't be too upset when he didn't think Damon was actually in the mood for violence.

"Possibly, the night is young," Damon said, and Alaric waved him away.

"I'll call you in a couple days?"

"You've got my number," Damon said.

Alaric watched Damon saunter out, and then picked up the tape recorder and picked up his glass and finished his drink.

With the information Damon gave him, Alaric went back to several of his reference books, and began outlining the next sections of the article. Although he had to begin work on his syllabus for the upcoming school year, he had the entire summer to get both done, and he made progress on each project. Somehow the entire town knew he was hard at work, although that didn't stop Mrs. Lockwood from stopping by to see him once or twice, and she made curious noises about his activities, but Alaric got the sense that she was just trying to see if he was serious about sticking around. He was an outsider, and would be, even if he stayed for years, but maybe the disaster of Founders Day might persuade at least the sheriff to include other people in the vampire fighting plans from now on.

"Don't bet on it," Damon said as he slipped up beside Alaric and stole a couple fries off his plate.

"No?" Alaric asked, and batted at Damon's hand. "Get your own."

"You already have some right here," Damon said, and sat down.

"Didn't you have a governess who taught you proper manners?"

"Yeah, and I ate her," Damon said, and Alaric stared at him until Damon snickered. "No, not really."

"With you I never know."

"It's all part of the fun."

"Yeah," Alaric said, and pushed his plate toward Damon. "Here, have the rest if you want."

"What's wrong with you?" Damon asked.

"I shouldn't put off getting out of here any longer, I've got work piling up, and I'm just procrastinating."

"Why? Afraid you might actually have to think about teaching kids stuff that they won't remember in a month?" Damon asked as he poked at the rest of the fries and ate them quickly and neatly.

"Your brother said you had your own views on school."

"Stefan's the one with all the big ideas about school," Damon said. "This isn't the first time he's been to high school."

"He must like it a lot."

"No, he likes pretending that he belongs. I don't have those delusions."

"Damon," Sheriff Forbes called out, and Alaric glanced over his shoulder to wave at her.

"Mr. Saltzman, good to see you," Sheriff Forbes said, and then smiled at Damon. "Did you get my message?"

"I did." Damon wiped his fingers carefully on a napkin. "I don't think we're going to have any trouble finding people to help out, but I don't know how many people you want to bring on."

"Not too many, but we need to make sure we have measure in place so there isn't a repeat of what happened."

Alaric glanced from the sheriff to Damon and frowned. "Did you want me to leave so you two can talk this over in private?"

"No need," Sheriff Forbes said, and nodded at Damon. "You'll let me know?"

"Of course," Damon said, and smiled at her.

"That is so freaky," Alaric said when the sheriff had left.

"What?"

"You two get along."

"Yeah."

"She would kill you if she knew."

"No, she might try," Damon said. "But she's not going to find out."

"Because you like things the way they are?" Alaric asked.

Damon smiled and looked at Alaric's beer for a second, and Alaric picked it up and glared.

"No, get your own."

When Alaric had compiled all the information he wanted, and the page of references had become several, he called Damon up again.

"I think it's about done."

"Random phone calls are one of your things, aren't they?" Damon asked.

"The paper, I've got a draft finished, and I'd like you to take a look."

"You know where I live."

"I'll be over later," Alaric said and hung up the phone.

"I just brought my laptop," Alaric said when Damon let him inside.

"Whatever," Damon said, and they headed into the parlor.

"Here," Alaric said once he had the file open, and shifted so Damon could get a look at the screen. "I'm expecting you to be brutally honest."

"Have I ever disappointed on that count?" Damon asked.

"I'm depending on that," Alaric said. As Damon read, Alaric sat back and stared around the room again, noticing details he hadn't before, and wondered if this was where Damon and Stefan dumped all the antiques they found, or if there was an actual decorating scheme behind it all.

Damon had been reading for several minutes when he pushed the laptop away, and looked over at Alaric. "Okay."

"You're done?"

"I like to read fast and move on to other things."

"What a shock," Alaric said. "But what did you think of it?"

Damon shrugged. "I'm not a teacher."

"No, you're a witness."

"How charmingly put," Damon said.

"I'm being serious, that's why I wanted you to do this in the first place."

"All right." Damon didn't have his shoes on, and when he put his feet up on the couch, he pushed them underneath Alaric's legs. "It's very thorough."

"In a good way?" Alaric asked.

"If that's what you're going for." Damon sighed when Alaric frowned. "Yeah, you've got enough evidence to make your points, and it reads well."

"Do you like it?"

Damon shrugged. "It's good."

"That's not what I was asking."

"I still think you should have added vampires," Damon said, but he smiled, and Alaric nodded.

"Thanks." Alaric reached out and put a hand on Damon's back. "I appreciate it, really." Then Alaric realized what he'd done. The way Damon went still under Alaric's hand made him wonder who else did that, patted his shoulder or hugged him, and he only came up with Elena, maybe Stefan, if they weren't at odds again. "I didn't mean to do that," Alaric said, and Damon gave him a curious look.

"You accidentally touched me? Do you do that a lot?"

"Sometimes," Alaric said.

"Do you go to bed with people that way too?" Damon asked, looking sure of himself. "You trip and fall, and then you wake up the next morning and you've got a hickey and your clothes are gone."

There had been a few nights like that in college, actually entire weeks, if Alaric was being honest. He'd fallen in with a wild group of Egyptologists, and the things they liked to do with henna and wine were pretty amazing.

"Yeah, a few times." Alaric moved his hand away and went back to his seat. He knew it looked like he was retreating, but he'd been trying to say something and it hadn't come out the way he intended.

Damon smirked, and turned around in his chair. Alaric braced himself for the vampire speed he still wasn't used to, but all Damon did was get up and straddle Alaric's lap.

"What are you-"

"If you don't know that then really am going to have to teach you a few things," Damon said, and grinned. "I don't mind a learning curve, though."

Alaric glared at him. "Damon, this isn't the time to play games."

"No such thing," Damon said. "That's what makes life worth living."

"You're dead," Alaric said.

"That doesn't mean I can't enjoy life," Damon said, and logically, Alaric could see so many things wrong with that sentence, but Damon wasn't being flippant and he still hadn't shifted himself from where he was resting on Alaric's thighs.

Alaric didn't know where to put his hands, or even if he should touch Damon at all, or push him away, but Damon leaned forward and slid his hands into Alaric's hair and yanked him forward. That was a dare and then Damon upped the ante by brushing his mouth over Alaric's and then leaning back.

"Was that it?"

"It takes two," Damon said.

"That's what you're going with?"

Damon shrugged. "Or I can go upstairs and you can drive home, but you'll just be on your own again."

"You're the alternative?"

"It's one of my specialties," Damon said.

Alaric felt a little playful when he put a hand on Damon's wrist and tilted his chin very slightly upwards. "Yeah? Says who?"

"I have testimonials," Damon said, and when he bent forward, Alaric wet his lips, and Damon took that as a hint.

Alaric had expected that Damon would take the lead and change the tone of the kiss, make it something harsher, a contest, but he didn't, not even when Alaric grabbed his shirt and tugged him closer. Somehow Damon was content to run his tongue over Alaric's lower lip and coax him to open his mouth, and then, when he had that permission, he eased closer.

They kept on kissing, without deadline or the intent to get anywhere, and Alaric hadn't done anything like this since he'd been seriously dating, years back, and he had missed it, just the closeness.

He knew that Damon was much stronger than him, he never forgot, but Damon didn't seem to want to use it against him, he held them up when Alaric tipped the chair back too far, and he didn't let either of them fall, but he wasn't overpowering Alaric, and it was curious.

"Is this how you usually do it?' Alaric asked.

Damon was nuzzling Alaric's jaw, and he refused to raise his head any further, baring his throat to a vampire was so completely stupid, not even years of celibacy could excuse it.

"Do what?"

Alaric tapped Damon on the back, and when that didn't work, grabbed a handful of hair and tugged sharply. "You seducing somebody, you bring them back to your place, and when they're relaxed, you kill them."

Damon moved away slightly and frowned. "I don't kill all of them. Most of them leave my company very well satisfied and alive, if a couple of pints lighter."

"Well, you're not getting that here. Besides, I take vervain."

"As if you would ever forget to kill the mood," Damon said, and Alaric reached out before he could pull away completely.

"I didn't say to stop."

Damon smiled. "Then what?"

"I don't want you biting me. Do you have to do that?"

"If you have sex, do you have to try everything?" Damon asked. "It's better that way, it's getting double the rush, and a meal too."

"I'm not either of those things, so if you can keep your teeth away from me, I'm not going to go anywhere, but if you don't behave, I'll make you regret it."

The expression on Damon's face was part amusement and something else, Alaric thought it might almost be insulted. "I can control myself."

"You can?"

"Yes," Damon said.

"I am actually aware of the concept of boundaries, Ric, they just don't usually apply to me."

"You don't let them."

"What's the point?"

"It's not always about what you want to do."

"I'm not one of your students." Damon looked slightly bored, and Alaric knew he had to speak his mind but keep Damon's interest where he wanted it. "

"Show me," Alaric said. He always got a little jolt when he was dealing with Damon, and imagined it was what anybody working in a dangerous job felt when they were in their element. Damon was a predator, and that was unforgettable, but he was also the guy that liked to talk to Alaric and wasn't walking away when Alaric talked back.

Damon kissed Alaric again, almost gently, but he scraped his teeth against Alaric's lower lip if just so that Alaric was forced to make an unhappy noise and remind him to behave.

Alaric realized that the chair wasn't going to hold them much longer, not with him arching up under Damon, who somehow managed to keep his balance on top of Alaric and roll his hips sinuously at the same time. When Alaric let out an appreciative moan, Damon did it again, until they had an unhurried rhythm going, back and forth as they kissed.

"I didn't think you did this with guys," Alaric managed to get out when he turned his head away for a second, just to see if Damon was going to push the biting thing. He didn't, but he followed Alaric's moment, and the chair tipped again before he righted it.

"I'm not picky," Damon said. "Not in that way."

"Lucky me," Alaric said.

"Very lucky," Damon said.

"How so?" Alaric asked, and Damon gave him a pleased look, and then Damon lifted him out of the chair and they were suddenly in a bedroom, and Alaric glanced around in bemusement.

"Is this your room?"

"It is."

"Are you planning to do something that involves me?" Alaric asked, and Damon smiled.

"You can be very observant at times."

"It comes and goes," Alaric said dryly. "What should I be observing now?" He didn't get a verbal answer, but one that came in the form of Damon unbuttoning his shit while he kicked off his boots. "Oh, is that all?"

"You should feel free to participate," Damon said. "Or I suppose you could just replace all your clothes."

Alaric didn't have the budget to buy new clothes whenever he wanted, nor did he particularly want to, and he glared at Damon. "Were you going to ask me if I wanted this too?"

"You're in my bedroom and you've been staring at me and licking your lips for weeks."

"I have not."

"Punching me was a big giveaway too," Damon said, and Alaric stood up and yanked his shirt over his head and threw it at Damon's face. "You were being an asshole, again, and I punched you because you deserved it."

"I've heard that before," Damon said and his fingers tapped his belt buckle, and Alaric suddenly caught up to the fact that yeah, he was down to pants too.

"This is really stupid."

"Only if you think having clothes on makes this more fun," Damon said, and Alaric blinked, because Damon was lean and pale all over, and he wasn't wearing anything under his jeans.

"Is that so?"

Damon was abruptly right up next to him, and his pants were somewhere else, and his hand was pulling down the zipper on Alaric's jeans, and well, that answered any questions he'd ever had about whether or not a vampire was warm or cold. "Yeah," Damon said in a low voice, and Alaric groaned. He could have said something about how Damon was really sure of himself, and that smug overconfidence rubbed him the wrong way, but they had discussed that already, and Damon didn't seem likely to stop annoying Alaric. But, it was easier to deal with Damon when the rules were thrown out and Alaric had done that once, he could do it again.

The first surprise was that Damon let Alaric pin him on the bed. He put one hand on Damon's wrists and leaned down, putting his weight on him, and Damon just arched into it and laughed. "That works for you?" Alaric asked.

"A lot of things do," Damon said. "What about you?"

"This isn't bad," Alaric said, and with them pressed against each other it was impossible to ignore exactly how good it actually was.

"Is that it?" Damon lifted his hips, and Alaric had to straddle him, and hung on, even though Damon wasn't trying to buck him off, just push him to do something.

"I was getting to it," Alaric said.

"Can't figure out what to do?" Damon asked.  
Alaric let out a frustrated noise, and twisted hard on Damon's wrists, and put his other hand on Damon's throat. "Stop trying to help."

"You need it," Damon said.

The conversation was about to turn into another one of their arguments, and Alaric could think of other things to do in bed, even if he'd never imagined doing any of them with Damon. "Give me a break," Alaric said. "It's been awhile since I've done this, so just go with it."

"Okay."

Alaric didn't expect Damon to bite him when he leaned down to kiss him, not automatically, but he was still cautious, and it wasn't until Damon laughed into the kiss that he relaxed and moved so he was laying on top of Damon and slid a hand underneath his head so he could tilt his head to the side.

Damon didn't pull away when Alaric shifted them, in fact he just brought one leg up to rub against Alaric's hip, and Alaric groaned as the change in position brought them closer.

"Better," Damon said.

"Stop trying to coach me through this." Alaric tangled his fingers in Damon's hair and yanked hard.

"Try that again," Damon said, and when Alaric did, Damon twisted away and nipped at Alaric's jaw. The feeling of teeth, blunt but unmistakable, made Alaric swear, and he jerked away.

"Don't."

Damon smirked at him, and Alaric leaned in for another kiss, and gave up lecturing Damon on what not to do. It was easier to bite back, and that got them in a position that worked for both of them, even if Alaric heard something break along the way.

Much later, Damon lay across Alaric's body, breathing heavily, and Alaric shoved at him without much force. "Move."

"Nope." Damon closed his eyes, and Alaric groaned.

"Please?"

Damon shifted very slightly to the side, and Alaric rolled over, so that Damon was mostly resting on his back instead.

"I should go," Alaric said, and yawned.

"Suit yourself," Damon said, sounding sleepy, but didn't make a move to shove Alaric out of bed.

"Or I could just stay here."

"Just be quiet," Damon said, and nipped Alaric's shoulder.


End file.
